OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Golden State Warriors are banking on Andrew Boguts future in the Bay Area. The Warriors and the often-injured centre agreed to a contract extension Friday, a day after the team finished the preseason. A person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press it was for three years and $36 million and could be worth up to about $42 million with incentives. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the terms had not been publicly disclosed. Boguts contract was set to expire after this season. "We put a lot of money into believing hes going to be healthy," general manager Bob Myers said. "In this business, youre taking risks on players, whether they stay healthy or not. We used all our analysis, all the things we knew, all the information that was at hand with us to make the decision we did. "Size is a scarcity in the NBA, and we felt like this was somebody we needed to have going forward to be a successful NBA basketball team. Hes a big piece of our recent and past success and hopefully future success. So for us, we were willing to take that risk, and we think its a good one." The Warriors acquired Bogut in a trade-deadline deal in March 2012 that sent guard Monta Ellis to Milwaukee. Bogut did not play for Golden State that season while recovering from a fractured left ankle. The 7-footer from Australia missed 50 of 82 games last season, mostly because of soreness in his surgically repaired ankle. He also battled back and knee injuries while averaging a career-low 5.8 points to go with 7.7 rebounds, but he was at his best in the playoffs, making a major difference on defence to help the Warriors get to the second round. Myers, Bogut and Boguts agent, David Bauman, spoke generally in May about an extension and agreed to revisit talks more seriously this October. Bogut said he gave the Warriors a Friday deadline to get a deal done because he didnt want negotiations to drag into the regular season, which begins Wednesday night at home against the Los Angeles Lakers. "I was never a greedy guy that was going to come and say, Pay me X or Im walking or pay me X or Im going to free agency," Bogut said. "I think Im realistic about the injuries that Ive had and the tough times that Ive had with the organization and the pressure that theyve faced with fans for making the trade. It was one of those things where we came to common ground and I was happy. I couldve easily said, Ill wait till the off-season and easily make more money in the long run and have someone just chasing you. But Im happy with my deal right now." When Bogut has played, he has played well. He has career averages of 12.2 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.58 blocks in 440 regular-season games over eight seasons. Staying healthy enough to play, though, has been a constant battle since Milwaukee made him the No. 1 overall pick out of Utah in the 2005 draft. Bogut took anti-inflammatory injections just to stay on the court in the playoffs last season, but he showed up in the biggest moments despite his limitations. He had 21 rebounds, 14 points, four blocks and three assists in the Game 6 clincher against Denver in the first round. He also fought through pain until the eventual Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs sent the Warriors home in six games in the second round. Bogut missed the end of the 2009-10 season with Milwaukee when he dislocated his right elbow, sprained his right wrist and broke his right hand in a hard fall to the floor. He also missed significant time with an injured lower back in the 2008-09 season. Bogut has repeatedly called the injuries "freak accidents," but the setbacks have taken a toll, physically and mentally. At one point while rehabbing his ankle most of last season, Bogut said he was in a "dark place" and even considered retirement. Instead, Golden States surprising playoffs -- and his role in it -- left him rejuvenated. He lost about 15 pounds this off-season, showing up in training camp in great shape. "Just kind of surreal," Bogut said. "Just kind of thinking about coming to the NBA as a kid was a dream, it wasnt reality. To be extended now ... its an unbelievable feeling." . Pistorius denied the allegation that he said to the close friend of the girlfriend he killed: "How can you sleep at night?" The accusation by Kim Myers provided a bizarre twist during the trial of the world-famous double-amputee Olympian, who is facing 25 years to life in prison if convicted of premeditated murder for shooting dead Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model, at his home last year. .C. -- Panthers offensive tackle Jordan Gross is saying goodbye to the NFL after 11 seasons.
http://www.officialbluejaysgearshop.com ... ds-Jersey/. After rookie right-hander Alex Colome excelled in a 5-2 victory in the opener, the Rays fell to Chris Tillman and the Orioles 4-1 on Friday night. .com) - Semyon Varlamov more than earned his third shutout of the season as he made a career-high 54 saves to lift the Colorado Avalanche to a 2-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday. . -- Valentin Zykov scored in overtime as the Baie-Comeau Drakkar rallied to a 3-2 victory over the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada on Sunday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoff action.Smokin-hot Casey Haerther kept hitting line drives, while Matt Jackson continued to be a presence on the mound as the Winnipeg Goldeyes won their fourth straight game and swept the Grand Prairie AirHogs right out of Shaw Park on Thursday afternoon. Jackson threw five full innings of two-hit, shutout baseball before a leg injury sent him to the showers. However, Haerther went four-for-four with three singles and a double, three runs scored and two RBI and capped a sensational week as the Fish beat the Hogs 5-2. With the win, the Goldeyes improved to 18-9 on the season, first in the American Associations North Division. They won their fourth straight game and swept Grand Prairie in this three-game set with wins of 7-6, 8-1 and 4-1. The Goldeyes also improved their home record to 6-4 this season. For Haerther, it was an incredible series. He went 11-for-13 (.846) with three homers, six runs scored and nine runs batted in. His average is now a monstrous .391, best in the American Association. "You have to ride these things as long as you can because they dont come around very often," Haerther said. "Im seeing the ball real good right now. Im also getting good pitches to hit. Im swinging at the pitches I choose to hit and Im not swinging at the pitches the pitchers want me to hit. Im getting deeper into counts and Im not afraid to hit with two strikes. It almost feels like youre not trying. Im just gonna keep doing what Im doing." The Golldeyes, who pounded out 14 hits, opened the scoring with a pair of runs in the second.dddddddddddd Donnie Webb led off with a single, stole second and scored on a base hit by Haerther. Haerther came around to score when Jake Blackwood was safe on a two-out error to Grand Prairie shortstop Jimmy Mojica. Winnipeg added two more in the sixth, as Webb again singled and stole second, Haerther singled and eventually came around to score on a single by Tyler Kuhn. The AirHogs answered with a run in the eighth as Palmer Karr Jr. singled off Brendan Lafferty to drive home Mitch Abeita and then they added another turn in the ninth off Kyle Bellamy, but it was too little, too late. The Goldeyes put it out of reach in the bottom of the eighth, as Haerther doubled and scored on a single by Kuhn, who had four hits himself and drove in a pair. His batting average is now .388, good for second in the league.Jackson (4-2, 3.09, ERA) got the win for Winnipeg, while Grand Prairie starter Shawn Spainhoward (0-4, 6.67) suffered the loss. There was no save. The Goldeyes will now open a huge intra-divisional series on Friday night at Shaw Park as the St. Paul Saints come to town for a three-game set. Kyle Anderson (2-1, 0.91 ERA) will get the start for Winnipeg, while Nick Barnese (2-1, 4.39 ERA) will take to the bump for St. Paul. Game time Friday night is 7 p.m., Saturday night the action starts at 6 p.m. and on Sunday afternoon, first pitch is at 1:35. ' ' '
